British general election (10): is an election that does not produce an overall winner really so unusual?
April 18th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
“Hung parliaments may seem unusual but they are not. Britain had 20 governments in the 20th century, according to Prof Robert Hazell of University College London’s constitution unit. Of these, five were coalitions and five were minority governments. Only 50% of these governments were the “traditional” single-party majority government that Britain’s first-past-the-post electoral system is often deemed to favour.
Most European Union states have hung parliaments. And even some other countries with Westminster-style systems are well used to hung parliaments too. Canada, for instance, has had three minority governments since 2000, while New Zealand has had seven hung parliaments in the past 20 years.”
This is the conclusion of a piece by Martin Kettle in today’s “Guardian” newspaper which you can read here. It may be that the British experience of 2010-2015 is the new norm.
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
A review of the novel “An Office And A Spy”
April 17th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
This novel, by British thriller writer Robert Harris, is a classic ‘could not put down’ – not great literature but a compelling read. You can check out my review here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
My 6th short story: “A Friend Indeed”
April 17th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
If you could go back in time and meet yourself as a child, what advice would you give to that youngster? That was the thought behind my sixth short story. You can read “A Friend Indeed” here.
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
Third anniversary of the #EverydaySexism project
April 16th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
The Everyday Sexism Project, an online campaign highlighting sexism across the world, is three years old today. It is on course to hit 100,000 entries this week, showing just how prevalent sexism still is.
As a man, I can’t claim always to have been totally blameless on this course but, like any caring male, I have been on a journey on this issue. It may have helped that I grew up in a woman’s world: I did not live with my father from the age of eight and I never had a grandfather (both died before I was born), so my mother and sister were massive influences on how I viewed women from an early age.
In my view, everyday sexism is not just an issue for women but for men too. It is part of the equality agenda: treating people with respect and fairness regardless of gender, colour, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion or any other stereotyping label.
If you’re a woman, you don’t need any explanation of the notion of everyday sexism. If you’re a man, you could try talking to your female relatives and friends and you could check out some examples here.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
Why is chocolate so delicious?
April 15th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
It’s all to do with chemistry – as you’ll see from this article.
Posted in Science & technology | Comments (0)
Why are we running out of chocolate?
April 15th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
It’s all to do with supply and demand and those Chinese – as explained in this article.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
British general election (9): why are the polls all over the place?
April 14th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
The latest Guardian/ICM survey (a phone poll) has the Conservatives ahead by six points. Meanwhile, a YouGov poll (an internet survey) for the Sun published on Sunday night showed a three-point Labour lead.
A series of internet polls last week had Labour’s lead ranging from three to six points. But a ComRes phone poll released a few hours later had the Tories ahead, although only by one point.
So, what’s going on?
As this article explains, the main difference seems to be in the method of polling: phone polling vs Internet polling. But there are two further matters to remember when we try to forecast the actual result on 7 May: first, there is still three weeks to go so there is time for opinion to change and, second, it is opinion (and turnout) in the marginal constituencies that really matters and that may not be the same as the national trend.
Alberto Nardelli concludes his article on polling as follows:
“There is no shortage of seat projection forecasts available either. But, for the moment, they all agree that Labour and the SNP will win more seats than the Conservatives and the Lib Dems combined. Whatever the results of any poll or set of polls, it is the ability to convene a parliamentary majority and form a government that will matter most.”
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
Which are the world’s most religious countries?
April 13th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
The UK is among the least religious countries in the world, according to a new survey. In a global ranking of 65 countries, the UK came six places from last, with 30% of the population calling themselves religious. While 53% of people said they were not religious, only 13% said they were a convinced atheist and the remainder did not know how to define themselves.
This compares with 94% of people in Thailand and 93% of people in Armenia, Bangladesh, Georgia and Morocco who said they were religious. At the bottom of the list was China where only 6% of people said they were religious while 61% said they were convinced atheists. This was followed by Japan, where just 13% of people were religious, Sweden with 19%, Czech Republic with 23%, and the Netherlands and Hong Kong with 26%.
You can find more data and an interactive world map here.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
U.S. presidential election (6): the man behind Hillary Clinton’s campaign
April 12th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Later today, Hillary Clinton will announce her long-expected bid to become the next US President. She was a good Secretary of State and I have reviewed here her account of that time in her memoirs “Hard Choices”. I think that she would make a fine President, but she has to win the Democratic nomination first (which should be easy) and then the contest with a Republican opponent (which might well be harder).
As an “Observer” newspaper piece today puts it:
“… will … the 18-month campaign to follow, be enough to reset voters’ opinions of Clinton, which have barely shifted over nearly 25 years of the Clintonland experience? It will be up to her clean-cut, 35-year-old political director, Robby Mook, to steer the candidate away from the campaign misadventure that doomed her 2008 effort to establish the Clintons as a dynastic political enterprise.
The Vermont-born Mook will be the first openly gay manager of a major presidential campaign. He takes the reins of the campaign with a track record as a low-key but formidable political operative.
Clinton advisers anticipate that he is close enough to the Clinton inner circle to be trusted, but experienced enough to challenge negative aspects of the Clinton package, from political self-entitlement to the blurred boundaries of the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation.”
You can read a profile of Robby Mook here.
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
My 5th short story: “Six Degrees Of Separation”
April 10th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
For my next short story, i decided to try something different. So we have six mini stories, each involving a different character in a different country but connected in a way that shows how our world today is full of links. The piece is called “Six Degree Of Separation” and you can read it here.
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)